Rachmaninoff Vespers - Slavic Chants Music by Sergei Rachmaninoff
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FACULTY OF MUSIC Rachmaninoff Vespers - Slavic Chants Music by Sergei Rachmaninoff Steven Fox, conductor Christopher Bagan and Daniel Taylor, directors The Clarion Choir with Mikki Sodergren, alto soloist John Ramseyer, tenor soloist and University of Toronto Schola Cantorum and Members of the Choir of the Theatre of Early Music Friday, February 28, 2020 at 7:30 pm St. Anne’s Anglican Church, 270 Gladstone Avenue The Historical Performance concerts are made possible in part by a generous gift from Ethel Harris. We wish to acknowledge this land on which the University of Toronto operates. For thousands of years it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land. ARTISTS Steven Fox, conductor Christopher Bagan and Daniel Taylor, directors Mikki Sodergren, alto soloist John Ramseyer, tenor soloist UNIVERSITY OF Elisabeth Ritthaler Bass TORONTO Karis Tees Tim Krol SCHOLA CANTORUM Neil Netherly Soprano Tenor Peter Walker Frances Beg Nathan Gritter Saige Carlson Arieh Sacke MEMBERS OF THE Anna-Julia David Jacob Thomas CHOIR OF THE Alexandra Delle Nick Veltmeyer THEATRE OF EARLY Donne David Walsh MUSIC Maria Deng Soprano Jane Fingler Bass Rebecca Genge Rebecca Genge Wesley Hui Clarisse Tonigussi Loren Graziano Matthew Tissi Sinead White Salena Harriman Roanna Kitchen THE CLARION CHOIR Alto Clara Krause Soprano Veronika Camille Labonte Jessica Beebe Anissimova Grace Liang Madeline Healey Valeria Michaela Linda Jones Kondrashov O’Connor Nacole Palmer Karis Tees Kayla Ruiz Molly Quinn Erica Simone Nola Richardson Tenor Amanda Singh Michael Dodge Emily Zixin Wang Alto Valdis Jevtejevs Sierra Ward-Bond Hannah Baslee Christopher Mahon Jennifer Wilson Wendy Gilles Nick Veltmeyer Kate Maroney Alto Mikki Sodergren Bass James Dyck Léo McKenna Yelena Gavrilova Tenor William Kraushaar Peter Koniers Brian Giebler Matthew Li Nikki Puchkov Nick Gabrieli Ortega Ryan McDonald Karageorgiou Danielle Nicholson Oliver Mercer John Ramseyer PROGRAM NOTES The All-Night Vigil or Vespers both the silence before Creation is widely regarded as Sergei and eternal rest. There follows a Rachmaninoff’s greatest choral sequence of hymns, readings, masterpiece. It is a lush and chants and prayers, providing transcendent setting of traditional a narrative of the reconciliation texts from the canonical hours of between God and man through the Russian Orthodox Church. the redeeming sacrifice of Christ. Written for choir with alto and tenor Music, of course, is a powerful soloists (here, Mikki Sodergren vehicle for the sacred texts. Not and John Ramseyer), its surprisingly, the austere, ancient magnificent, soaring movements foundational chants underscore the derive from ancient Kievan and primacy of the words, and even in Byzantine chants, many of which Rachmaninoff’s moving and are presented in this concert expressive scoring, the words still together with Rachmaninoff’s remain paramount. Rachmaninoff’s settings. Traditionally, an all-night setting of the All-Night Vigil vigil is celebrated on the eve of (Vsenoshchnoye bdeniye, Op. 37) the main feasts of the Orthodox was written in January and February Church. Originally beginning at 1915 in the middle of World War 6:00 in the evening and concluding I, when he was 41. During this at 9:00 the following morning, it period, Rachmaninoff was traveling comprises three separate services: throughout Russia with Serge Great Vespers, Matins (at midnight), Koussevitsky, giving concerts in aid and the First Hour or Prime (in the of the war against Germany. He had morning). By the end of the 19th already completed his Liturgy of St. century, the service had been John Chrysostom in 1910 (following reduced to a mere three hours. Tchaikovsky’s example of 1879) Concert performances are further but the Vigil is more elaborate and shortened by the omission of the intense in its expression. He used traditional prayers. authentic Znamenny chant in seven movements; Greek chants in two; The vigil uses the beauty of the and in the remaining movements he setting sun as an analogy to inspire constructed what he described as a contemplation of the spiritual light of counterfeit of the original. Christ, the light of the coming day, and the eternal light of the heavenly The piece is dedicated to the kingdom, as well as the particulars scholar Stephan Vassilovich of the approaching feast day. Great Smolensky (1849-1909), who had Vespers begins in silence, with a introduced Rachmaninoff to the cruciform censing of the altar; one repertoire of the church when he of the most profound moments was at the Moscow Conservatory. of Orthodox liturgy, representing Yet, Rachmaninoff’s inspiration was as much politically motivated as 3. This homiletic text comes anything else; a powerful affirmation from Psalm 1, with verses sung of Russian nationalism during predominantly by middle voices, the war. The first performance on and refrains of Alleluia by the March 10, 1915, was given not full choir. Beginning simply and liturgically, but in a fund-raising devoutly, it grows in strength, erupts concert by the Moscow Synodal in a Gloria of great conviction, then Choir, directed by Nicolai Danilin. recedes into reverence. It was extremely well received and had to be repeated four times that 4. The Phos Hilaron is one of season. the most ancient hymns of the Orthodox Church. The text is from “Even in my dreams I could not Psalm 140 (141). Here, the melody have imagined that I would write is a Kiev chant using only four such a work,” Rachmaninoff told notes. The dramatic image of the the singers at the first performance. darkness approaching the setting Hearing this extraordinary piece sun is marked by the entrance of music, not a frozen edifice of the lowest basses with more of austere musical architecture shadows collecting as higher but a vibrant and powerfully basses enter. But then the tone emotional manifestation of religious changes to shimmering candlelight experience, it is certainly possible to rising behind the tenor’s solo of understand precisely how he felt. praise, reflecting the gradual lighting of the candles by the priest and Vespers deacon. 1. The work begins with the word Amin (Amen) responding to the 5. The Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29-32) Great Litany, which would have is the prayer of the elderly Simeon been chanted by the priest. Then who had been told by the Holy there is a robust fourfold call to Spirit that he would not die before prayer, in six and then eight parts, seeing the Messiah. Here, against emphasizing the sovereignty of a gently rocking background, Christ. the tenor solo sings a Kiev chant expressing Simeon’s gratitude for 2. A truncated version of Psalm God’s blessing. At the end of the 103 (104)*, in which the alto movement the basses descend, soloist sings the melody based on step by step, to a low B-flat, in Greek chant against alternating what is one of the most impressive backgrounds of tenor and bass, passages in choral music. and soprano and alto. Tender and Rachmaninoff was particularly fond deeply reverential, this psalm is of this movement and wanted it at sung as the church is censed. his funeral, but this wish was not granted because no place could be found for it in the funeral service. and the angel in verses 2 through 4, the movement ends with a 6. The last movement of the driving Gloria setting (Slava otsu Vespers section is an Ave i sinu), which Rachmaninoff later Maria. Beginning in hushed and incorporated into his Symphonic transcendent veneration, it soon Dances. begins to gain urgency and ultimately blossoms in a powerful 10. After a Gospel reading, the assertion of salvation. After this book is brought out for the people all the lights are dimmed and the to kiss. This is Rachmaninoff’s own doors to the Holy of Holies are chant, using wide contrasts of closed. register and dynamics, and praising and claiming the Christ who Matins brought salvation through His death 7. The start of Matins is a chorus and resurrection. in praise of God, preceding the reading of the Six Psalms, which 11. The Magnificat is traditionally express a sense of loss and set for soprano voices to lend separation from God. This setting realism to Mary’s response to the is full of the sound of bells as the Ave Maria. However, Rachmaninoff word Slava (Glory) is reiterated. gives his Magnificat to the lowest of the basses, who quote her words 8. Called the Polyeleos (expressing with great effect! The text from “much mercy”), this movement Luke alternates with an antiphon. celebrates the reconciliation between God and man with 12. The Great Doxology is the texts from Psalm 135 (136). climax of Matins, and in a true Rachmaninoff uses a znamenny all-night vigil it would coincide chant in octaves for altos and with the sunrise. Rachmaninoff’s basses, marking the music spiritoso setting begins with the znamenny to celebrate God’s steadfast mercy. chant heard in the seventh movement. Beginning with the 9. The Evlogitaria is a series of Gloria, which ends with the effect stanzas referencing the Credal of chiming bells, the movement assertion that Jesus descended proceeds into texts from Psalms to the dead, and revisiting the and the Apocrypha, changing Resurrection from the perspectives their character rhythmically and of all four Gospels. All are framed harmonically with each new between chants of the text, section. “Blessed art Thou, O Lord; teach me Thy statutes.” Presenting the 13 and 14. These two Resurrection ringing sound of angel choirs in hymns are not both sung in one verse 1, and the mournful women service: they alternate according to the prevailing tone of the chant sunlight bursts into the room.